"Gabby Lopez, and PDRs."
"Gabby Lopez, and PDRs."
The series of hearings conducted by the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises in connection with 13 bills filed for the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise yielded two main issues that must be resolved.
The Lopez-owned network had been ordered shut down by the National Telecommunications Commission last month.
The first issue is the dual citizenship of Eugenio Lopez III. The second issue is the issuance of Philippine Depositary Receipts.
With regard to the first issue, the Constitution is clear that mass media ownership and management is reserved for Filipino individuals or corporations, cooperatives and associations managed by such Filipinos.
Gabby Lopez could be seen as a Filipino because his parents are both Filipinos. But he was born in the United States which makes him an American under the “jus soli” doctrine. In the Philippines, we observe “jus sanguinis” – by blood.
In the House discussions, the dual allegiance and loyalty of Lopez came to fore. When he is outside of the Philippines, he is an American, not a Filipino.
The problem of dual allegiance is pertinent because mass media shape the minds and opinions of the people.
With regard to the PDRs, here are the facts: Lopez, Inc. established Worldtech Holdings which became ABS-CBN Holdings. It did not have any purpose of its own other than to issue 132,000,000 shares of PDRs.
On September 29, 1999, the shares were offered to foreigners for P46.00 each – P45.90 as a base and P0.10 as option price. This created some P6.072 billion worth of PDRs floating around.
The Lopezes however reserved the right to vote. But, Santa Banana, when you hold shares of a company, you partake of dividends and other benefits arising from the ownership of shares.
What the Lopezes did by layering was an attempt to circumvent something that is prohibited by the Constitution. Layering is done to hide an entity’s true purpose and intent. As a lawyer, I know this too well.
It would do well for Solicitor General Jose Calida to pursue his quo warranto petition before the Supreme Court. The scheme of making foreigners own shares by the billions of pesos is in violation of Article XVI, Section 11 (1) of the 1987 Charter.
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I wanted to laugh when I heard over television that former Senator Antonio Trillanes wants President Duterte to appoint Vice President Leni Robredo as head of the Inter-Agency Task Force that helps the President respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a good thing that the President was quick to know the intention of Trillanes.
My gulay, what is the credential of Robredo to be IATF chairman? Surveys say the people are satisfied with the way the President has responded to the crisis.
Politicizing the pandemic is not the right solution. We need the President to be assisted by health experts, not politicians.
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I don’t know why Interior and Local Secretary Eduardo Ano still trusts barangay people to distribute cash when he knows only too well they are capable of getting their hands on the money. Ano knows how corrupt some barangay officials could be – in fact, some 100 LGU and barangay officials have already been given show cause orders, meaning they are on this list of those who allegedly committed irregularities in the distribution of help.
I have always said that corruption happens when there is human intervention and discretion involved. There must be another way to give help to the people.
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The spike in COVID-19 cases nationwide was expected following the General Community Quarantine. There is now greater mobility of people. Many restrictions have been eased. There has also been aggressive and massive testing.
What I am worried about is the announcement of the World Health Organization that we are now in the most dangerous phase of the pandemic. That’s really alarming, coming from the WHO.